Week 2 was brutal for a lot of fantasy managers with the injury bug biting some of the biggest names in football. In addition to Michael Thomas already being out, we saw Saquan Barkley lost for the season and Christian McCaffrey sent to the IR with an ankle injury. There’s no replacing players of this magnitude, but if you drafted well, you have guys who can move up your fantasy depth chart and into those starting positions. More than ever now, if you’re dealing with injuries and moving former flex players into starting roles, it is going to be important to find productive players to put in your flex spots.
As you know, every Thursday here on Razzball, I will be posting the weeks “Sexy Flexies” to give you a couple of players to consider starting in your flex spot. The objective isn’t to point out the obvious guys you’re starting in your RB or WR slots, but to take a look at a couple of players who are a bit more under the radar. These will likely be guys that you won’t start every week but will be good rotational pieces in the flex spot of your lineup based on matchup and opportunity.
What I do here is look at the match-ups and opportunities and highlight for you a couple of guys who I believe will perform in the situation they are in for the given week. For this column, we will be looking at players who are ranked 60th or later at the flex position for the week, according to Fantasy Pros Consensus Ratings, but will still get you double digit fantasy points in your flex spots. Let’s take a look at the players who will be the “Sexy Flexies” for week 3!
DeVante Parker – WR – Miami Dolphins – at Jacksonville (*TNF)
Thankfully, this article releases on Thursday, because we have a Thursday Night Football Sexy Flexie this week! DeVante Parker, the former first round pick FINALLY showed his potential and broke out last year in a big way. So far in 2020 Parker has certainly looked to be the best receiver in Miami.
In the 2 games the Dolphins have played this season, DeVante Parker has 9 receptions to Preston Williams’ 3 and has also received more targets. The Dolphins have gone up against 2 of the tougher defenses in the league in New England and Buffalo, but Parker was able to bring in 9 catches for 100 yards and a touchdown in the 2 games. Even after dealing with a hamstring injury most of last week, Parker was able to get out there and secure 5 passes for over 50 yards and a touchdown. This week, Parker was removed from the injury report on Wednesday, practiced in full, and seems ready to go for this match-up.
For the first time this season, Parker will be suiting up at full health and it comes just in time for a juicy matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jags secondary has been getting torched and giving up a lot of points so far this season. Just last week Ryan Tannehill threw for FOUR touchdowns against the lackluster Jaguars secondary. Parker should see undrafted Tre Herndon a lot on Thursday night and should absolutely be able to take advantage of the matchup. I am expecting Parker to continue to get the targets, and a 6 for 60 and a touchdown game will get you 18 fantasy points in a ppr league, a nice start to the week for your team on a Thursday night!
Joshua Kelley – RB – Los Angeles Chargers – vs Carolina
Joshua Kelley has been a great revelation for all fantasy managers who spent that double digit round pick on the rookie back out of UCLA. Anthony Lynn loves Kelley and he looks to have jumped Justin Jackson on the depth chart. In week 1, with all 3 backs healthy, it was Kelley who was the primary RB2, not Jackson. The best thing to see in week 1 was that it was Kelley who was in the game when the Chargers were in the red zone, and he even took one of those red zone carries for a touchdown. In week 2, Jackson didn’t play, and Kelley solidified his role as the guy to share the backfield with Ekeler. In a close game against the Chiefs, Kelley carried the ball 23 times and added 2 receptions. Kelley’s 25 touches last week were more than the 20 that the lead back Ekeler got, and Kelley received 52% of the rushing share to Ekeler’s 36.4%. This backfield is looking more like a 1A/1B backfield than one where Kelley is a backup.
Opportunity is what we are looking for when we look for players to put in our lineups. Kelley is getting that opportunity and with increased touches there is increased opportunity for success. In addition to starting the rookie Herbert and likely wanting him to hand off more than throw, this week’s matchup against Carolina is a solid one for running backs as well. The Panthers defense has allowed the sixth most rushing yards and the most rushing touchdowns to running backs so far this year. I expect Kelley to continue to share the workload with Ekeler as well as continuing to get the red zone carries. I can see a modest projection of about 15 total touches, with a couple of them being receptions, for 85 total yards and a touchdown.
Hopefully you can use these Sexy Flexies to overcome some injuries and get some wins this week. Both players have great double-digit point upside and should have significant roles in their team’s game plan this week. Don’t forget, for some more help with setting your lineups, and even for full season projections, check out Rudy Gamble’s Pigskinator! Good luck in all your matchups this week!
